Last Night

Ok... all of the tasting notes... The 1999 Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon was one of the best from this winery I've ever had. Lots of anise, blackberries and spice. A very nice finish... I'd be glad to have some of these in my cellar. The Champagne Ruinart Brut Rose NV (NOT Dom Ruinart) is outstanding... a pronounced berry flavor but completely dry. Very full bodied, arguable the best non-vintage Rose (along with Billecart-Salmon) on the market today. The 1985 Charles Heidseick "Champagne Charlie" is wonderful. So rich and yeasty, but plenty of apples and pears. Tiny little bubbles as well... outstanding. The 1999 Fontodi Syrah, Tuscany was ok. Not great, certainly not the 1996 but a wonderful wine nonetheless. Blackpepper and classic Italian dried fruits. Lovely.

The 1976 Chateau d'Yquem was awesome. Amber-brown in color in the bottle, it had a slight rose-color to it in the glass. The nose was pure botrytis, caramel and baked apricots. On the palate the wine had the slightest hint of TCA, but to be honest, it really didn't detract from the overall quality that much. Stony caramel, baked apples, honey and layers of exotic spices. A wonderful d'Yquem, though far from the best I've had. Two DRCs... the 1999 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet is the single greatest white wine I have ever tasted. Still a baby, but it was giving so much. The DRC plot is entirely in Chassagne-Montrachet and the slightly rugged quality of that village comes through in this wine. It's a poweful, monolithic wine with layers and layers of Granny Smith Apples, Bosc Pear, unripe white peaches, honeysuckle, clove, cinnamon, lemon peel, tangerine, and pineapple. The palate was unbelievable... the length on this wine is astonishing, and it's likely that as this baby grows up, it will put on even more weight and length and would blow away just about anything else at the table. Simply stunning. Nearly equally as stunning and certainly among the greatest red wines I've ever had was the 1989 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti. This too is still young, but had a perfectly clean, amazing nose. It's been a few years since I've had Romanee-Conti, and it was what I remember (though the last one I had was the perfect 1985). Layers of clove, truffles, cedar, leather, spice box, cinnamon, strawberries, raspberries and rhubarb. The nose is completely exotic and is about as perfect a nose as I've ever had the pleasure to smell. The palate was exceptional, though perhaps fell a tiny bit short of the nose - I thing for no other reason than the wine still showed a bit of tannin and was clearly a baby. It could have been decanted and the palate might have opened up a touch, but I think the nose then would have died - and that's really what this wine was all about - the nose. The length was mindboggling and is a wonderful example of the greatest vineyard site in the world. To try either of these DRCs is an amazing experience. I can't even begin to describe the experience of trying both of these together. You will see both of these wines on my "Wines of the Year" list.